Power is the ability to make things happen. It is impossible to imagine the world without it, and it takes innumerable forms. Some can be precisely measured and analyzed; others are so subtle as to almost defy description. The Power thread will examine the forms power takes in the natural world and in the products of human culture, in relationships between individuals and in relationships between groups and nations. Drawing on several different academic disciplines, we will seek to understand how this indispensable abstraction has been and is used and abused, gained and lost, asserted and contested in actual concrete circumstances of the past and the present.

This thread can be 9 or 18 hours.

Students must take at least one course from the 2000 level or above.

Courses in a 9-hour thread must be from a minimum of two disciplines. Courses in an 18-hour thread must be from a minimum of four disciplines, with no more than nine credits from any one discpline.

An introduction to management theory and practice. Students explore the history of management and the environment in which managers operate. Classroom discussion focuses on the basic managerial functions of planning, organizing, leading, and controlling.
(Normally offered each semester.)

Students will explore components of leadership theory, skills, and behaviors, and will examine and practice effective communication behaviors as related to leadership processes and roles.

Archway Curriculum: Integrative Core: Power Thread

COMM 3200 Persuasive Communication (4 hours)

A study of theories and practices of persuasion within a variety of communication contexts. Students will be expected to apply these concepts to out-of-class persuasive situations.Prerequisite(s): Junior standing.
(Normally offered each semester.)

Students will explore the intersection of the theory and practice of communication in an organizational context. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding how power within and between organizations is shaped by and shapes society. Topics include identity, power, globalization, technology, and ethics.Prerequisite(s): Junior standing, COMM 2300 Communication Theory and COMM 3500 Research Methods or permission of the instructor.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)

An examination of the microeconomic theories, problems, and policies of the U.S. economy. Topics include the theory of the firm, market structures, and current economic issues such as income distribution, antitrust policy, poverty, the farm problem, and international trade.Prerequisite(s): ECON 1530 Macroeconomic Principles strongly recommended.
(Normally offered each semester.)

Students will study the early history of rhetoric, drawing upon the Greek and Roman traditions and those of at least one additional culture. Students will focus on the major tenets of these rhetorical traditions, enabling them to analyze a variety of texts from multiple cultural perspectives.Prerequisite(s): Sophomore standing or instructor permission.
(Normally offered alternate spring semesters.)

Each course in the Topics in World Literature group will study a selection of literary works that engage the chosen topic--texts of different genres, from historical eras, and from different cultural traditions. The selected readings will present both abstract principles involved in the topic and its immediate, lived realities.Prerequisite: Any First Year Writing course.

A thematic course designed to complement the more traditional offerings in British and American literature. The emphasis will be on the shock of colonization, the oppression of imperialism, and the struggle for independence. Attention will also be paid to the encounter of the individual with the questions of God, family, love, war, work, change, and death.Prerequisite(s): First Year Writing and Sophomore standing.

A course in which students will concentrate in depth on one subfield or topic in the domain of linguistics. The particular subject will be determined each time the course is offered.Prerequisite(s): Junior standing or instructor permission.
(Normally offered every other spring.)

A broad survey of the major themes and issues in African American history from the early slave trade through emancipation to the present. Major topics include the creation of a diverse African American culture, resistance to the dehumanization of slavery, Civil War and Reconstruction, the Great Migration, the movement from Civil Rights to Black Power and contemporary issues such as reparations for slavery. This course includes a service learning component. No P/F.
(Normally offered each fall semester)

An overview of American Indian history from precontact to the present. It will explore numerous themes including cultural diversity, initial contact with Europeans, the different styles of interactions (Spanish/English/French), accommodation and dispossession, the U.S. treaty process, concentration, wardship, education, land allotment, termination and relocation, and modern American Indian issues. Utilizing assigned readings, discussion, and some short films, this class will eradicate misconceptions about American Indians and therefore help to eliminate the roots of discrimination and prejudice against the original Americans. No P/F.
(Normally offered each spring semester.)

A study of an American Indian history topic based on the interest of those enrolled and could include topics such as conquest period, Indian Wars, Reservation Era, Indian Civil Rights movement (Red Power), or Sovereignty Issues. Offered as 2 or 4 credits depending on the semester.
HIST 4180 meets with HIST 3180. The requirements of the courses are the same EXCEPT that a research paper is required for students in 4180.

This course teaches and applies some of the elements of critical thinking and formal writing to an inquiry and analysis of "power," including its different definitions and manifestations in 21st century life.
(Normally offered every two years.)

This course examines the impact of the contemporary mass media on politics in the United States, focusing most directly on the effect of news gathering and reporting practices on political processes and institutions, and on the responses of political actors to those journalistic norms. Questions about the nature of democracy in a media society will arise and be addressed over the course of the semester.Prerequisite(s): POLSC 1000/POLSC 1000FYW United States Government and Politics.

Archway Curriculum: Integrative Core: Power Thread

RELIG 1150 World Religions (3 hours)

This course is a study of the cultural settings, lives of founders when appropriate, oral or written traditions and literature, worldviews, myths, rituals, ideals of conduct, and development of some of the world's religions. Religions studied will typically include tribal religions, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confuciansim, Shinto, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and Bahai. Readings, videos, and websites will help introduce and illustrate not only the cultural settings in which these religions appear, but also the voices and faces of contemporary religious practitioners.
(Normally offered each fall semester.)

This course examines urban communities and their historical roots. Topics covered include demographic and ecological trends, cross-cultural variations, and current theories about urban processes and community in order to foster an understanding of this dominant form of human social organization. Students engage in field study in areas such as community development, urban administration, spatial organization, and contemporary social problems. The requirements of the 4540 course are the same as the 3540 course EXCEPT that students in the higher course number complete a semester-length field project relevant to the course material.Prerequisite(s): SOC 1110 Introduction to Sociology.
(Normally offered alternate years.)

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PDF version as the official catalog of NWU. NWU reserves the right to make changes in the regulations
and offerings announced in this official online version, as circumstances require. It is expected that
the only changes will be the correction of errors and the inclusion of new courses and programs approved
during the academic year.